The transition from middle school to high school is a big change for most people. This can cause all sorts of obstacles to arise—for instance, mental health issues, academic setbacks, feelings of failure, and self-doubt. Otherwise, for some people, it can be an amazing experience.
In 8th grade, the teachers talk and mention you going into high school the following year throughout the whole school year. They always ask how excited you are for it and what you’re most nervous about. Many students are nervous because of the upperclassmen and the crowded hallways or the combining of the Isanti and Cambridge schools. During the last few months of middle school, students don’t stop talking about high school.
The incoming freshman will try to fit the high school description during the summer. They’ll possibly get a job, new clothes, and become more mature. This is the moment they try to become more adult-like and get their life together because they’ve been told high school is a new chapter in life and you should start fresh with a clean slate. While this works for most people, sometimes it just does nothing.
At the end of summer, the incoming freshman gets an email saying school is starting, one from their Link Crew leaders, and a link showing all the clubs and activities they should join. Then comes the first day of school for just freshmen. Everyone arrived and met up with their friends, did the assembly, went to their groups, and went on with the day, maybe even meeting some new people. That isn’t as nerve-racking as the next day. It’s just building it up like the rising action of a story, and then it finally hits the climax, the first day of actual high school.
At 8:30 a.m., many students arrive at school and meet up with friends they haven’t seen all summer. All the freshmen walking into the school see so many people they have never seen in their lives, many of whom are older and taller than them. An abundance of freshmen are scared, nervous, and intimidated by it all. The hallways were crowded with people. Some slow and fast kids that just walk in everybody’s way and will push by you if they feel like it because they couldn’t care less. This continues while you try to find the people you know in each class until lunch comes around because this is just another thing freshmen get to add to their list of things they are scared of because of the three split-up lunches.
It’s not like what we’re used to. It’s not split up between each grade, so it’s a freshman in one lunch and juniors in another. All grades are just put together and then divided up. Everyone floods into the lunchroom, scouring to find a table to sit at with their friends or find a table to sit at because they don’t know anyone who has their lunch. A handful of freshmen are out of place during the first few days of school during lunch but eventually find their place and meet some new people in the process.
They eventually get used to it all. It is challenging for the first couple of weeks, but the freshman gets the hang of it all…The crowded hallways, the lunches, the mornings, and the different people. These things can cause nervousness, and most of them get over it, but it can be a challenging step in life.
